MEMORANDUM

AGENDA #1

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Town Council

FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Work Session on Principles, Goals and Strategies for Development of the Horace Williams Site (Carolina North)

DATE: November 17, 2003

The Council has called tonight’s work session to discuss Recommended Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North), presented to the Council on October 8, 2003.

BACKGROUND

In its long range planning efforts, the Town has recognized the significance of the University’s 960-acre Horace Williams tract, of which about 600 acres are in Chapel Hill. The 2000 Comprehensive Plan states the following about the site: “As the Town’s largest remaining undeveloped parcel, development of this property has the potential to significantly affect the future of Chapel Hill.”

The University and the Town have been studying the potential future of the site over the past decade. Key milestones include the Town’s January 1997 UNC-Chapel Hill Planning Panel report on the University’s land use plans for the site, the 1998 report Outlying Parcels Land Use Plans: Summary Report prepared by Johnson, Johnson and Roy for the University, and the Ayers Saint Gross plan for the site presented to the Town Council on February 5, 2001. More recently, the University has been working on a revised development plan for the site, now known as Carolina North.

On October 7, 2002, the Town Council adopted a resolution establishing a charge for the creation of a Horace Williams Citizens Committee that included the development of principles to guide the Council’s deliberations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regarding the future development of the Horace Williams property (Carolina North).

The Committee met over a seven-month period beginning in March 2003 to develop a set of principles, goals and strategies, and reported to Council regularly during that period. On October 8, the Committee submitted to the Council its report, “Recommended Principles, Goals and Strategies for Guiding the Development of the Horace Williams Property (Carolina North).” At the meeting, the Council approved a process for considering the report that included a public forum on October 27, followed by a work session and Council consideration on November 24. The Council also authorized the Town Manager to forward the report to Town advisory boards for comment.

DISCUSSION

We have attached the following for tonight’s work session:

· Summary of comments received at the Council’s October 27^th Public Forum (Attachment 1).

· Comments from Town advisory boards received to date (Attachment 2).

· A worksheet with the Report’s principles, goals and strategies side-by-side with comments from advisory boards and staff, and excerpts from the Town’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan (Attachment 3).

KEY ISSUES

The comments submitted at this stage in the process provide a starting point for discussing key issues related to the development of the Horace Williams site. There will be many opportunities in the future for the Council, the public and staff to have input on issues related to the development of the property as the University moves forward with the Carolina North project. Tonight we highlight one key issue for the Council’s discussion.

Zoning

The report mentions zoning that applies to the Horace Williams property, and suggests consideration of a new zoning district to apply to this property (“Transportation and Land Use Principles, Principle 3” of the report). We believe that this is a major topic that will need the Council’s early attention as discussions proceed.

We note that the portion of the tract in Chapel Hill currently carries multiple zoning designations. Specifically:

The northern portion is zoned Residential-2, a low-density residential designation.

The central portion is zoned Office/Institutional-2, our standard office designation. The airport runway and immediately surrounding areas are zoned OI-2. Some of the land south of Estes Drive Extension is zoned OI-2.

A large central area, and a portion of the land south of Estes Drive Extension, are zoned Office/Institutional-3. This is the zoning designation that, for many years, applied to the UNC Central Campus. It contains fewer standards than most Chapel Hill zoning districts. The Central Campus was rezoned in 2001 to a newly-created district, Office/Institutional-4.

The existing zoning classifications for the Horace Williams tract do not seem appropriate in the context of planning for Carolina North. The Committee suggests that the characteristics of the Horace Williams property and its surrounding area argue for a different regulatory approach than was designed for the Central Campus.

The creation of the Office/Institutional-4 district was a collaborative process, involving University officials and the Town Council, with the Council providing for the involvement of citizens and staff. We believe that the Council should engage University officials in dialogue about the regulatory approach to the Horace Williams tract at the early stages of planning for Carolina North.

NEXT STEPS

On November 24 the Council is to consider adoption of a set of principles, goals and strategies to guide the Council’s deliberations with the University of North Carolina as development of the site moves forward. The materials will incorporate comments from the Council made at tonight’s work session and report on key issues emerging from your discussion and from the Public Forum.

ATTACHMENTS